MUSE Issue 20, June 2018
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Art. Culture. Issue 20 Antiquities. June 2018 Natural history. From the ground up In this issue A word from the Director, David Ellis After years of planning, the In addition to being a fine example Pantheon,’ Hathor’s acquisition, via 2 News 24 The Bunyip in Balranald construction of the Chau Chak of its type, the net connects us to the Egypt Exploration Fund and the Wrapped in folklore, the peculiar Wing Museum on University Avenue the excitement of late 19th and early generosity of a Sydney benefactor 3 Towards a new museum skull found on the banks of has finally started, signalled by the 20th century Egyptology, and most Josiah Mullens, is tracked by Sandra Construction of the new Chau the Murrumbidgee River is still colourful hoardings erected around specifically to the French Egyptologist, Gordon, Mullens’s great, great grand- Chak Wing Museum has begin. inspiring conversations. the site featuring images of museum Gaston Maspero, one of the most daughter and a PhD candidate in the objects. The ground was officially colourful characters in Egypt’s Department of Archaeology. 4 Maspero's beaded net 27 The Nicholson's Egyptian 34 Raising the roof ‘broken’ at a small ceremony in June colonial history. A generous bequest has enabled Aphrodite The journey of an unassuming and the builders, FDC, now occupy Other stories include new public art us to acquire an extraordinary Meet the weightiest Nicholson object from Roman London to the the site. The net is from the period and inspired by Indigenous language, our Egyptian beaded funerary net. resident: our four-tonne granite Nicholson Museum. of the kind that once would have preparation of wonderful Pacific capital of the goddess Hathor. Designed by Sydney-based shrouded the Nicholson mummy, textiles for longevity and display, and 7 Measuring stars 35 A singular museum architects Johnson Pilton Walker, Mer-Neith-it-es. The recent focus of a fishy French connection ... We hope An exciting new acquisition from 30 The French connection Paul Donnelly visits the Musée de the new museum is scheduled to a segment on ABC TV’s 7.30, the story you enjoy the June issue of Muse. the School of Physics reflects two How did six jars of rare fish la Chasse et de la Nature in Paris, open in mid-2020. You can follow of the ‘excavation’ and scanning of unique astronomical instruments. specimens find their way to the the latest in his series. progress of the construction on our Mer-Neith-it-es and her cedar coffin David Ellis Macleay Museum? website: went global. The 7100 beads found Director, Museums and Cultural 10 GARABARA: old knowledges, 39 Making history sydney.edu.au/museums during that excavation will benefit Engagement new learnings 32 Seeing poetry See what our guests and staff, from comparison with our recent An artwork for the entrance of a Lucia Marcucci's Nove Stanze and even some of our objects, This issue features stories of acquisition. new University of Sydney building, is a welcome addition to our have been up to. benefaction, some recent and by Indigenous artist, Robert collection of Italian Concrete some from the past, all of which In this issue of Muse, we also learn Andrew, will give a material and Visual Poetry. 40 Find your muse continue to expand and improve the of a multi-generational passion presence to forgotten histories. For your diary: our upcoming University’s inspiring collections. for the Nicholson collection, told events and programs. through the tale of one of our most 13 Pacific textiles A generous bequest by Morgan celebrated and unquestionably most The Macleay has embarked on Evan Hughes, a long-standing heavy objects, Hathor, the four-tonne a project to conserve, rehouse Friend of the Nicholson Museum, red-granite Egyptian capital. and digitise Pacific textiles. has enabled us to develop the Poetically (if mistakenly) described Egyptian collection by purchasing an by the Sydney Morning Herald in 1889 16 Up close with Pacific fibre art extraordinary beaded funerary net. as the ‘Aphrodite of the Egyptian Members of the intercultural group WeAve Parramatta share their knowledge on textile art. Sydney University Museums Education and Public Programs Muse edited by Luke Parker. Comprising the Macleay Museum, To book a school excursion, an adult education 19 Romantic yet modern Nicholson Museum and University Art Gallery tour or a University heritage tour This edition contains names and images of people +61 2 9351 8746 who have died. We acknowledge that, for some Spanish artist Francisco de The Macleay Museum and the University Art [email protected] people and communities, these may cause distress Goya's paired engravings explore Gallery are now closed as we prepare for the and sadness. Where possible, cultural permission opening of the Chau Chak Wing Museum. Macleay Museum to publish has been sought. contrasts in light and dark. Enquiries: The Nicholson Museum remains open: +61 2 9036 5253 Produced by Marketing and Communications, Monday to Friday, 10am to 4.30pm and [email protected] the University of Sydney, May 2018. 18/7136 21 Between Olympus and earth the first Saturday of every month, 12 to 4pm ISSN 1449-0420 ABN 15 211 513 464 Greek and Roman theatre was the Closed on public holidays. Nicholson Museum CRICOS 00026A In the southern entrance to the Quadrangle vehicle for interplay between the General admission is free. +61 2 9351 2812 Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) real world and the godly realms. +61 2 9351 7305 (fax) is a globally recognised certification Become a fan on Facebook [email protected] overseeing all fibre sourcing standards. and follow us on Twitter. This provides guarantees for the sydney.edu.au/museums University Art Gallery consumer that products are made Enquiries of woodchips from well-managed forests and other controlled sources Above, and cover: benefaction in action. Matthys Top right: Decorative element from a terracotta Sydney University Museums Administration +61 2 9351 6883 with strict environmental, economical Gerber, Ultra, 2000, donated to the University Art brazier, depicting a theatre mask of a New Comedy +61 2 9351 2274 [email protected] and social standards. Collection by Pamela Hansford through the Australian courtesan character. See story page 21 +61 2 9351 2881 (fax) Government's Cultural Gifts Program 2003, UA2003.27 [email protected] 1 News Researchers re-colour coffin Although the wooden coffin of Mer-Neith-it-es (NMR.29) was once intricately decorated, it has faded to a dull brown. The Nicholson Museum’s Mummy Project has assembled a team of experts to recolour a high-resolution digital model of the coffin for display. The team recently met with Egyptologist Dr Marie Vandenbeusch, who was visiting from the British Museum. Researchers include scientists using spectroscopy to identify ancient pigments, scientific illustrators using D-Stretch to bring up ghosted imagery, and Egyptologists reading the hieroglyphics. The recoloured model will be displayed with the coffin in a Digital rendering of the level dedicated Mummy Room in the Chau Chak Wing Museum. 3 galleries, courtesy of JPW Below, from left to right: Wendy Reade and Jamie Fraser, Marie Vandenbeusch (British Museum), Alayne Alvis, Luke O’Donnell (Newcastle), Boyo Ockinga (Macquarie University), Bernadette Drabsch and Andrew Howells (Newcastle), Michelle Wood (Sydney Analytical), photo by Thérèse Harrison Towards a new museum The mother of all mummy discoveries In March 2018 the Nicholson team began the – Paul Donnelly gives an update on the Chau Chak Wing Museum. second stage of a project to scan the linen- wrapped ibis mummies in our collection. CT scans were made of the specimens, in The process of transforming plans for the Chau Chak The new museum is scheduled to open mid- collaboration with Helen Laurendet, Sydney Wing Museum into a reality took a major step forward at 2020. After breaking ground in June, the University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, and Zoe the end of February with advice that the Development 22-month construction phase has begun. This Williams and Veronika Tatarinoff, Hybrid Theatre Application had been approved. This enabled the will be followed by three months of exhibition Unit. Initial analysis suggests that one of the University to engage a building contractor and, for the fabrication and object installation. Having a ibis packages actually contains two juveniles. first time, confidently predict an opening date. more definite opening date has given a buzz to This project was reported in The Guardian and museum staff as the much-anticipated bringing the Daily Telegraph, with Candace Richards The successful contractor is FDC, a well-established together of the three university collections interviewed about the significance of the ibis to major construction company that, in addition to many advances closer. the Egyptian god Thoth. Learn more at award-winning buildings, is currently constructing sydney.edu.au/museums/research the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences building at the Designed by architects JPW, the new museum University of Sydney. will be transformative for the collections. Visitors will experience expansive gallery spaces, including a 6.5 m high temporary gallery, three Below: an aerial plan of the campus indicating the CCWM site. tertiary-level object-based learning studios, a Unique post takes research in a new direction schools education room, an auditorium, and Thérèse Harrison recently started with us as the Professional a licensed café overlooking sculptures in the Officer for Museums Analyses. This unique scientific post is funded Chau Chak Wing landscape to Lake Northam in Victoria Park. by the University’s Core Research Facility – Sydney Analytical – to Museum expand the research use of non-destructive technologies, including site We look forward to sharing more milestones vibrational spectroscopy and x-ray fluorescence, into new research with you in the coming months.